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Separating the Personal and the Professional: Keeping Your Emotions at Bay and Getting the Best Possible Price for Your Home

Selling your home is often a very emotional experience, especially if you've spent many years growing attached to it. No matter the price at which you offer it for sale, you already have your own value ascribed to it, most likely a good deal higher than anyone is prepared to pay you. Many homeowners who are hopelessly attached to their homes can't ever sell them, since no price is ever good enough to reflect the soul behind the drywall. To sell your home quickly and effectively, you have to set aside these emotions and attachments, and do your homework to ascertain a fair market value.

Trust a Professional

One of the best ways to keep things professional is to work with a qualified listing agent. The agent won't have any emotional attachments to your home and can determine the most appropriate selling price based on his/her professional knowledge of the current market. If you have doubts about the price suggested, the agent should be able to justify that price and put your mind at ease. Trust his/her judgment and be very careful that your emotional self doesn't demand or even hint that the price should be higher, since the home is really worth more. It may be so to you, but it won't be to a buyer who is looking at eight properties a day, week after week.

Don't Take It Personally

You'll also need to keep your emotions in check when it comes time to negotiate the final sale price. A savvy buyer will always use whatever resources are available--such as the results of a home inspection--to negotiate the price of a home lower. This is not the time to be stubborn or point out that you hand-planted every one of those rose bushes in the front yard; again, listen to your agent and be fair. If your emotions prevent you from finalizing the deal, then you need to ask yourself whether you are really prepared to let the home go.

Make It Look Less Like Home

Another good tactic is to pack away all your personal belongings, such as pictures, refrigerator magnets and souvenirs, for example, to make the home appear more impersonal. This has the double effect of helping you move on emotionally and allowing prospective buyers to imagine themselves living in the home more easily. Hiring a professional home stager will also help you see your home as a place where someone else might live. Above all, keep your focus on the positive changes you are making rather than on your personal losses.

If you're ready to sell your home, let BrendaFricks.com help. We have many years of experience working with sellers through the Tampa Bay area, and we do everything we can to make the home-selling process as quick and painless as possible.